They say, “You coming to the lion’s den to maim, tame and handle?”/ The problem is– you don’t look nothing like Daniel…
–T@z
Or does he?
Not unlike the improbable Daniel of biblical lore, Daniel Jacobs (32-1, 29KOs) is tasked with a Goliath of a lion in middleweight beast Gennady Gennadyvich Golovkin (36-0, 33KOs) this Saturday night inside of Madison Square Garden in New York City.
If “The Miracle Man” slays the reigning WBC/WBA/IBF/IBO kingpin, he’ll go from “regular” WBA middleweight world champion to a legend beyond Buster Douglas.
The destroyer from Kazakhstan will not enter the ring a distracted and improperly trained “Iron Mike” with a personality disorder in Tokyo.
No.
If he does the improbable, he’ll defeat a man who hasn’t appeared mortal; one on the cusp of an all but guaranteed superfight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (expected to piñata Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on May 6 @T-Mobile in Las Vegas) in September. This is the type of championship fight that so enamored many to the sport of boxing in the 1980’s. The stakes are extremely high as echoed by Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler, as both fighters posed for pictures on Monday afternoon at the New York Stock Exchange.
“Danny, if he’s successful, he wins all the belts that we worked so hard to put together– but that’s what the fans react to,” stated a candid Loeffler. “It’s a risk-versus-reward situation where if they perceive the risk, they really want to see it. I don’t think we’re going to see the 12th round of this fight.”
As Loeffler made that statement, it became easy to understand why fans aren’t reacting to the prospect of Floyd Mayweather V Conor McGregor, despite how hard “Money” is trying to put that together. Something real doesn’t require much effort, as we are now a public with zero tolerance for gimmicks.
Jacobs had a very real ordeal with a rare form of cancer he conquered a few years back. So monstrous was this invader that it wrapped itself around his spine– but not his mind. “Do you know what I had to do to get to this point and you think I’m going to fear you? Hell no. Absolutely not,” said Jacobs, while questioning a hypothetical dragon. Now, he prepares himself for a second battle with a cancer of a different kind; for Golovkin strikes with the kind of malignancy that appears to send radiation throughout the soul.
But there is reason for optimism.
A combination punching menace of tremendous speed and power, Jacobs fights with a tenacity and a practiced sense of purpose that exceeds any of Triple G’s past foes. While Billy Joe Saunders still holds the WBO portion of the middleweight belts, it’s really too big for his waist, as Jacobs would annihilate BJS.
Clearly the #2 best middleweight on the planet, Jacobs ventured to the Oakland lair of super middleweight all-time great / light heavyweight king Andre Ward to prepare for Golovkin. He’s not only received invaluable advice from “SOG”, but also sagacity from Ward trainer Virgil Hunter, to go with that received regularly from lead trainer Andre Rozier. He’s even hired Chris Algieri to serve as his onsite nutritionist.
But will any of this matter?
Entering the lion’s den of GGG conjures the Roman Coliseum. Whether real or imagined, there’s a mythical legend that surrounds the mystique of Golovkin, complete with an aura of invincibility that’s accompanied by an almost known inevitability.
We will roar.
![GGG V Jacobs [Vol.I]: Daniel Enters The Lion’s Den](https://nyfights.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/dj.jpg)
